Editing Gridlock (section)

{{Short description|Form of traffic congestion; used as an analogy for processes that fail to progress}}
{{Other uses}}

[[Image:GridlockCorrected.png|right|thumb|Gridlock on a network of two-way streets. The red cars are those causing the gridlock by stopping in the middle of the intersection.]]
'''Gridlock''' is a form of [[traffic congestion]] where continuous queues of vehicles block an entire network of intersecting streets, bringing traffic in all directions to a complete standstill. <ref>{{cite dictionary|url=http://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/249126|url-access=subscription|title=Gridlock|publisher=Oxford University Press|access-date=2011-05-03|dictionary=Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref>  The term originates from a situation possible in a [[grid plan]] where intersections are blocked, preventing vehicles from either moving forwards through the intersection or backing up to an upstream intersection.

The term ''gridlock'' is also used incorrectly to describe high [[traffic congestion]] with minimal flow (which is simply a traffic jam), where a blocked grid system is not involved. By extension, the term has been applied to situations in other fields where flow is stalled by excess demand, or in which competing interests prevent progress.